3 ms·
According to this paper[1] (and using an online calculator to roughly convert GJ to CO2e), manufacturing and assembly of a Li-ion pack adds around 300Kg CO2e/kW
by ppf 6y ago
According to this paper[1] (and using an online calculator to roughly convert GJ to CO2e), manufacturing and assembly of a Li-ion pack adds around 300Kg CO2e/kWh. That's already a problem for your phone, before you even start counting the embedded energy of all of its other compnents (semiconductor manufacturing is very energy-intensive).
But, multiply that by 100 to get a Tesla battery pack, and you're in real trouble. 300Kg * 100 / 0.4Kg/mile = 75,000 miles before you've broken even, compared to a petrol car. This number is actaully a little high, compared to other ways I've calculated it, but is definitely in the right ballpark.
[1] https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0007850617301099 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S00078...
- deathanatos 6y agoAh, thank you for finding that & pointing it out. One of the things I didn't get & wanted from the original post was the full CO₂ cost of the manufacture, and I figured it was probably going to be much higher. (I didn't include it since the article was focused on moving manufacturing, so the manufacturing CO₂ cost would remain the same either way.) (But, presumably the ICE car also has its own manufacturing cost, which should offset that of the Tesla? Though, I'm not sure what the equivalent here is; the manufacturing CO₂ of the gas? The CO₂ of the ICE's battery?) I know not everyone does keep their vehicles as long as I do, but I better get at least 75k mi out of it! (My current — and first — car is at ~130k mi, and still going fairly strong, though it is definitely showing some wear. Alas, it burns gas.)